Japanese automaker, Honda is going through a tough phase in the Indian market. The company has stopped producing cars at its Greater Noida based production plant, and has recently discontinued its two of the most popular cars – Civic sedan and the CR-V SUV. Honda is currently selling the Amaze, City, Jazz and the WR-V in our market. The Amaze has received a mid-life facelift, which has some design changes, upgraded interior and new features.
In order to further improve sales, Honda is now planning to launch two new cars in the Indian market in the next couple of years. The company will launch the new City hybrid sedan with mileage over 27kmpl in 2022. Adding to it, Honda Cars India has also started working on a new India-specific SUV.
New Honda City Hybrid
The company had announced to launch the new City hybrid sedan in mid-2021; however, the launch has been pushed to next financial year. The launch has been delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic. Expected to be priced around Rs 15 lakh to Rs 18 lakh, the new Honda City Hybrid sedan will be positioned above the standard model.
The new City hybrid is already on sale in Thailand. Reportedly to be called the new Honda City RS Hybrid, the new model will be powered by a petrol-electric hybrid option. The hybrid version comprises of a 98bhp, 1.5-litre Atkinson Cycle petrol engine paired with an integrated started generation (ISG) and a second electric motor offering 109bhp. This set-up is also offered with the new-gen Jazz in the global markets.
The new City e:HEV will be offered in 3 driving modes – Electric Drive, Hybrid Drive and Engine Drive. In electric drive mode, the new City hybrid can completely runs on electric power during low-speed cruising. In the hybrid drive mode, the petrol engine and electric motor combine for optimum power and economy. On higher-speed, the vehicle will ride on the petrol engine. It is claimed to return a fuel efficiency of over 27kmpl, which makes it the most fuel efficient in the segment.
New Honda Mid-Sized SUV
Honda has officially announced that company has started working on an all-new SUV that will be especially designed for the Indian market. It is expected to be based on the City sedan’s platform. The new model could be a mid-sized SUV, which will be positioned against the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq and the upcoming Volkswagen Taigun.
Internally called the Honda S-SUV (31XA), the new mid-sized SUV could be offered in 5-seats and 7-seats configurations. Not just platform, the new Honda S-SUV could share the engine options with the City sedan. It will be offered with two engine options – a 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel. Both manual and CVT automatic gearbox options are likely to be on offer.
The new SUV could be closely related to the Honda N7X 3-row SUV concept. The production version of the 3-row SUV will be showcased at the 2021 GIIAS in November. If it launched in India, the N7X SUV will be positioned against the Hyundai Alcazar, Tata Safari, Mahindra XUV700 and the MG Hector Plus.
